Snakes & Ladders
by jessicalorewrites
Summary: "I-I'm pregnant." Their love would be like an incessant roller coaster; snakes and ladders becoming the game of life. Nobody accounted for a baby. Especially not at seventeen. (Albus/OC)


**Chapter One - Preconception**

It was October and although the air was crisp with the hint of an oncoming storm, for now the sky was luminescent in its turquoise glory. Still, it was cold as I bundled my scarf closer to my neck and stepped down from the horseless carriage that had transported me and my cousin from the castle.

Ellis jumped down after me, straightening his skinny-jean clad legs as twigs snapped under his heavy feet. He raised a hand to his perfectly quiffed hair, checked that his freezing charm was still keeping each strand perfectly in place before he set off towards the farther end of Hogsmeade.

"Hey - wait up!" I called, scrambling after him. My bag slammed uncomfortably at my side as I jogged to catch up with him.

"What?" When he slowed down and turned to me he was smirking, a mischievous glint in his mahogany coloured eyes.

Ugh. "Will you _please_ just tell me who Marin has set me up with?"

Marin was our other friend. She was our age, a Ravenclaw too, with wavy blonde hair that reached her shoulders and eyes the colour of cornflowers that went wide when she spoke. She was also a matchmaker: a control freak in the making. Or maybe she was already made – who knew. Marin liked to think she was at the centre of some grand scheme as if she could manipulate the world. Things usually turned out sour when she got involved – things like my love life (or lack thereof) – but it would be rude to let her know where she wasn't needed, though that didn't stop me hinting every now and again.

In this instance, she'd decided that enough was enough and she would get me a boyfriend before I turned eighteen in March whether I had 'time for one' or not. And that's how I found myself in the middle of Hogsmeade with a smirking cousin by my side, a date venue imprinted into my mind and absolutely no idea of my Mystery Man's name.

Eventually Ellis replied. "Marin wouldn't tell me either."

I almost scoffed at the ridiculousness of his statement but my mum brought me (us, he was my cousin after all) up with better manners than that.

And then my bottle-blonde friend resumed his original pace and took off down the cobbled street again, yelling a "speak with you later!" over his shoulder almost as a last resort. I could practically feel his grin radiating back at me.

* * *

I don't know what I'd done to piss the Fates off but apparently it was pretty huge. That was the only explanation for being sat across from the world's singly most annoying boy in the entire history of the Wizarding world.

And the worst part? I knew him. No, I didn't know him: I _despised_ him. A fact I was one hundred percent sure that Marin was aware of.

Matthew Theaker sat on the seat opposite me, ogling the waitress' behind as she cleared the table beside us. He was swinging on the back two legs of his wooden chair, quite blatantly paying more attention to the way her skirt rode up than the conversation I was tryingto carry.

Because if truth be told, Matthew was fucking boring. And I had known this date would be a train wreck from the moment he'd sat down. Maybe even the moment Marin had told me she'd set me up on a blind date.

_No,_ I thought sourly. _That was a lie._ At some point I had been looking forward to this little outing. I had allowed Marin to curl my hair for me before I'd come out this morning and had even applied the slightest amount of neutral make-up, too. Not enough for Ellis to notice and tease me about, but enough for a nod of approval from Marin (which were very sparse indeed).

The unnecessary torture of mine and Matthew's first – and last – date continued on for at least an hour, the minutes ticking by so slowly I felt as if someone had charmed the hand of the clock to stop moving. I was bored stupid and, even worse, _starving_. Yes – that's right. On a date, at a place that served food, I was practically hugging my stomach as it ate itself from the inside out.

Why? Because when I'd tried to order my main course with a side of fries, he'd raised his eyebrows at me from across the table. I'd asked: "What?" as he shook his head at the waitress and told her "she'll have it with the salad, thanks."

Not wanting to cause a scene, I'd seethed silently as I chomped quickly on the rancid taste of lettuce and tomatoes and all things that were definitely not _chips_.

What a twat.

With the conversation having reached another lull, I took a sip of my iced butterbeer in order to appear busy. For once Matthew wasn't glancing around for any sign of his fanciful waitress; he was actually paying attention to me. Or, should I say, my chest.

"So how many guys have you shagged?"

I coughed loudly as my eyes widened comically, covering my mouth at the last second to hide my spluttering. _What the fuck? _How was I even supposed to respond to that?

"I-err-" don't think it's any of your business? No, POLITE. Always be polite, my mother said. No matter the circumstances. "I'm just going to pop to the bathroom. I won't be long."

As I stood up quickly and smothered down my skirt I cringed at the awkwardness of the day. And really, the worst part was that I could have spent it with Ellis or Marin – even being back up at the castle would have been better than wasting it with the tosser I'd been set up with.

Ugh, I hated boys.

* * *

When someone tapped me on the shoulder I almost peed myself in fright, expecting it to be Matthew creeping up on me.

"Er, sorry, but what are you doing?"

I couldn't help but sigh in relief as I met the emerald eyes of my questioner. He wasn't much taller than me, which was almost a first, with thick rimmed hipster-style glasses perched on the end of his pointed nose. I'd never seen him that up-close before.

Only a ruler's length away from me, I could see the thin, jagged line of a scar decorating the left side of the boy's forehead. I almost collapsed with hysteria from the irony of it because of course, the boy stood before me was none other than Albus Potter. Not that he was really that special – it was his dad that did all the work, after all. It would be like people pretending that I was the most popular girl at Hogwarts purely because my father was the Second Most Influential Man of Wizarding Britain (as titled by _The Wizarding Times, 2022 December Edition_).

"Nothing," I frowned, squinting slightly at the bright colours of Albus' jumper. He was known for being one of the most colour-diverse kids in the entire castle and that fact was not any less blatantly obvious in that moment. "What are _you_ doing?"

"Me?" He looked surprised but the corners of his mouth quirked up in a half smile. "I'm wondering why a girl like you is in a place like this hiding behind a potted plant."

I rolled my eyes, ignoring the latter statement. "Girl like me?"

Here it was, about to happen again. You see, as you might have picked up from what I said earlier, I definitely was not one of the more liked students of Hogwarts. I wasn't bullied by any means – or ignored or any of that other bullshit that seems to happen to everybody you ever read about – but I didn't have a lot of close friends, either. A lot of times I'd heard people whispering in the corridors about me. Just stupid things really like the shade of my lipstick or the way I'd styled my hair.

It didn't stop me feeling a tad insecure though, because I was average. In every sense, definition and synonym of the word.

"A girl so pretty and smart and," when Albus finally allowed himself to smile his whole face lit up. "Someone who hated Herbology for five compulsory years."

"Oh…" I said, unsure on how to respond to his compliments, and then, "how do you know I hate Herbology?"

He furrowed his eyebrow. "The Slytherins took Herbology with the Ravenclaws?"

I shrugged it off. How was I supposed to remember useless facts like that when I could barely even remember the stuff I needed to know to pass my NEWTs at the end of the year. I was a pretty shit stereotype for Ravenclaw house, to be honest.

"So," Albus sidestepped me to peer out through the foliage of my hiding spot. His shoulder brushed lightly against mine as I turned to face the same way. "Who're you spying on?"

"I'm not spying on anybody," I replied indignantly. "I'm just… trying to decide how best to escape my date."

"Oh yeah?" He turned to look at me, raising his eyebrows. I nodded. "Which one is he then?"

"The one over there with the shaggy blonde hair, leant back on his chair," I said. As Albus dipped his head to see through the leaves of the potted plant, a few strands of his messy hair fell forwards, obscuring my view of his luminous eyes. Surprisingly, I felt my heart sink a little at the movement.

"What's so wrong with him, then?" asked Albus after a moment.

"Well," I replied slowly. "He's a sexist douchebag who cares for nobody but himself, he doesn't give a flying fuck who he offends in the process of maintaining his own superimposed ego and, if you look closely," a scoff escaped my lips. "his nose is kind of uneven."

That got a chuckle out of the Slytherin.

"Wait…" he paused, narrowed his eyes as he watched the turn of Matthew's head. The waitress had come back into view and with her my date's lustrous, unwavering attention.

When he turned his head our way I shoved Albus to the floor, my hand pressed firm against the broadest part of his slender back, the rough texture of jumper rubbing hard underneath.

In all of two seconds we'd start to chuckle, lightly at first, in small bursts of oxygen exhaled slowly. Then it grew, adapting and changing as we tried to stifle our laughter the louder it got. It's amazing how such small actions can do that; bring two people momentarily together.

"D-do you think he s-saw us?" I wheezed, clutching my stomach. I pulled my body upwards, resting my back against the potted plant as a sigh of euphoria escaped my lips.

"Not sure," grinned Albus. "It's funny either way."

As the raven-haired boy climbed clumsily to his feet, still sniggering, he thrust out a hand for me to grab. Hesitantly, I took it, his surprisingly calloused hands wrapping their way easily around my freakishly long fingers as he hauled me back to my feet.

"Anyway," Albus swivelled us around, letting go of my hand as he did, so that we could resume our, er, _observation _of Matthew. "Is that Matthew Theaker? As in, biggest twat of the entire school, Theaker?"

"Urm, yeah," I laughed warily.

"Okay," Albus nodded. His jaw tightened as I watched, his eyes steeling to a cloudy forest green. "Okay, right, we're getting you out of here."

"We're – wait, what?"

My mind span as I processed what he was saying. Beyond that moment of wanting, I couldn't see how Albus could help me. He was just a seventeen year old boy and I simply a seventeen year old girl who was out of her luck on the worst date of her life.

Before I could disarm his plans he was facing me with both arms holding me by the shoulders a good foot and a half away. Though his eyes were still the same, unusual shade I had barely ever seen before, the look of determination was slowly being replaced with flecks of mischief, dancing across the green ocean of his irises.

"Can I trust you, Emilia Wilson?"

Was I confused by the question? A little. Nevertheless, I replied with a short and sharp, "yes, of course."

"Great," he winked – _he actually winked_ – as he began pulling out a shimmering piece of fabric from the interior of his trouser pocket. "Then follow my lead."

* * *

Albus Potter had an invisibility cloak.

Of _course_ he had an invisibility cloak.

Albus and I had walked definitely over towards the table where Matthew and I had been seated. Evidently, we were invisible, so he didn't see us coming, but in between dodging the waitstaff and customers, I barely had time to think about what the boy under the cloak had planned. Really, I was marvelling at the sheer beauty of the transparent fabric under which we walked.

After we'd grabbed my coat and Albus had poured a healthy amount of salt into Matthew's unoccupied drink – all this without being seen, of course – we exited the busy shop in favour of the even busier high street.

Laughing as we walked from shop to shop, we spent the rest of the day together. Though the air was brisk, which the afternoon sun did nothing to change, it was still fun. I had never really spoken to Albus much before. We'd had several lessons together over the course of the past six years but our House differences kept us apart. I knew Rose – his cousin – and she would sometimes mention him but that was it.

I was surprised to find that the Albus I saw before was not the Albus I saw today nor the Albus I would come to know.

Back at the castle, Dinner was in full swing and as a result, the Entrance Hall was empty. Upon our return, we stood at the foot of the marble staircase, quietly drinking each other in. His expression was unreadable. I'd bet good money mine was too.

But I was thinking a vast array of things, _feeling _a multitude of emotions. Where would we go from there? Where _could _we go.

"I've had an amazing day," I murmured quietly into the silence.

Albus exhaled in relief. "Really? Me too."

I grinned, relief showing within myself too.

We were close again, almost as close as we had been back in the restaurant when he had found me outside the bathrooms behind that stupid potted plant, spying on my horrible date. There was nothing new to observe about him but I liked to do it anyway. He had a face you could never get enough of.

I broke the gaze, eyes casting down to my ballet flats. I played with the hem of my skirt as I spoke my next line, "I don't want today to end."

Albus reached out his fingers and titled my chin up, forcing me to look back at him. When I did, I saw his eyes were gentle and his smile even softer. "It doesn't have to end. Not yet. Not if you don't want."

"I-" my voice hitched in my throat. What was he suggesting? "I don't." I cleared my throat. "No, I really don't want it to end."

"Good," he smiled. And then, for the second time that day, he said "follow me."

And I did.

* * *

The morning smelled of musk.

As my consciousness rose to the surface on that Sunday morning, there was a distinctively masculine smell that masked my thoughts in a hazy daze. Someone had left the window open, I figured, because the room was full of a cold draught that crept its way under my skin.

I rolled over on my side, wrapping the blue velvet covers closer around me as I stretched out across the bed. However I was stopped when my arm bumped into something solid.

It was then that my eyes opened, focusing blurrily on the interior of what I had thought to be my bed, back at the top of the Ravenclaw Tower.

I was mistaken.

Instead, I was greeted with dark, almost black wood and deep, emerald green curtain hangings, drawn tightly shut around the bed. I never slept like this - with the curtains shut. I preferred to leave them open.

"Em," groaned a voice groggily from beside me.

_Shit._

Yesterday flooded back, the memories rolling over in me in a tidal wave of emotions, flushed cheeks and sweaty bodies. I slept with Albus last night. I _slept _with him. Oh Merlin what the fuck.

Roving under the covers, I quickly checked that I was clothed. I was, thankfully, but the oversized striped shirt that I wore was definitely not my own.

Carefully, so as to not awaken Albus any further, I slipped out from beneath the duvet, gently prising open the curtains around the bed to check for his roommates. Thankfully there were none in sight, the four remaining Slytherin beds lying empty.

I picked up my skirt from my side of the bed, quickly shimmying into it whilst leaving Albus' shirt on over the top in order to save time. I needed to get out of there before anyone came back and saw me, because those were questions I could certainly do without. I also needed to get away from the raven haired boy beside me because I could not handle the implications of our adventures with his questioning, either.

My small feet padding carefully across the cold wooden panels, I shuffled as quietly as possible towards the door. I was ten steps, five, four, two…

"Emilia?" The voice was more distinctive this time, less gruff from sleep. With my hand hovering over the door handle, I froze.

Behind me I could hear Albus shift between the duvet covers, possibly sit up so he could see me in my floral skirt and clashing shirt.

"You're leaving already," he said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement. I breathed out heavily, sighing to myself. A strand of my sandy brown hair blew across my eyes as I let my hand drop delicately to grip the handle.

"I'm sorry Albus." I couldn't bring myself to face him as I spoke my parting words, whispers on my lips. "Last night," I sighed, "was a mistake. Please don't mention it – forget it in fact. I'm – I'm so sorry."

We weren't supposed to go that far, that quickly. I wasn't looking for a whirlwind romance but for a canal side stroll, because if I was the steady drop of rain against the window he was a gushing waterfall. I could never measure up to who he was or wanted to be. Not really. And I had kidded myself when indulging in his presence. We were opposites; opposing sides of the spectrum.

Tucked up with Albus by my side, I could have let myself allow something to come from our connection. And yet I couldn't, because our love would be like an incessant rollercoaster; snakes and ladders becoming the game of life.

And so I walked the walk of shame with my head held high, wishing that my stupid manner of romantising situations would walk away too.

* * *

_A/N: Hello lovelies, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter for this fic! Just a forewarning that it is a pregnancy fic and so if you're not into that kind of thing there is no point in reading any further. Reviews/favourites would be great! I reply to all reviews as soon as possible. Also, if you want an easier way to keep up to date with me daily then my **tumblr**__ link can be found on my author page. Thank you!_

_xo_


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